


Fljót On

by Jbee



Series: Gates of Askr: Year One [32]
Category: Fire Emblem Heroes, Fire Emblem Series
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-04
Updated: 2020-08-04
Packaged: 2021-03-06 05:53:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,392
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25698379
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jbee/pseuds/Jbee
Summary: Kiran returns to the capital after the summer expedition on the coast only to finally move out of her room in the castle and and into her own home within the city centre.
Relationships: Lay | Ranulf/Summoner | Eclat | Kiran
Series: Gates of Askr: Year One [32]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1703545
Kudos: 6





	Fljót On

**Author's Note:**

> This series is a collection of short stories driven by the FEH Subreddit Weekly Writing Prompts, Aug. 3, 2020. "With the castle undergoing a huge remodel, Kiran and a Hero end up as roommates!"

“What do you mean you get to keep your room in the castle?” Ranulf cried out, stopping to readjust the crate he carried with his knee. “Anna practically had my room reassigned by the end of breakfast this morning!” he groaned, picking up his pace to catch up with Kiran.

“I’m guessing it has to do with the renovations and, you know, the fact she is still sore about the money you screwed her out of. I’m sure she will reassign my room too.” Kiran knew that this was a lie, and the only reason she was able to keep her old room in the castle was because of Alfonse. He wanted her to have a place to stay in case she changed her mind. A peace offering after their argument last week. She had spent the entire trip back to the capital avoiding any interaction with the young prince and once they arrived at the castle Kiran proceeded to pack all of her possessions. She carelessly dumped the entire contents of her drawers into a few boxes that she now pulled behind her on a small wagon, it’s iron wheels clacking as they rolled on the cobble stones. “Is that really everything you own?”

“Yup! You always have everything you need, if you never have need of anything!” he laughed, as they arrived at 1606 Fljót House, the run-down cottage home located on the canal running through the capital. Kiran had been duped into purchasing it from Anna in the spring and Ranulf had offered to fix-up the shoddy property in exchange of renting the second bedroom to get out of the Order’s crowded barracks. The two friends reached the end of the picturesque street where the river split in two smaller canals. “Hey, why don’t you do the honours?” He placed his crate on top of the other boxes in the wagon and gave her a set of spindly skeleton keys.

Kiran hesitated, the shaggy foliage that blocked the home from view was still growing wildly along the fence line. She wondered how much work was actually completed since she had been there last and if she should have forked over the extra coin to have Anna’s team do the renovations. She gritted her teeth and took hold of the dark cast iron gate, pushing it open. Silence. The horrific squeal that it made upon their first visit was now gone. Breathing a sigh of relief, she excitedly smiled back at Ranulf who nodded, gesturing for her to continue into the front yard.

She stepped out into the stone path that lead to the front of the home. The cracks had been patched, the tall grass was trimmed. Now one could see a separation from the weeds and actual flowers that had been planted by the previous owner. To Kiran’s surprise pink and yellow roses and light purple lilacs grew along the shrubbery of the fence line creating a pleasant floral smell in the warm summer air.

“I decided to leave the bushes, a bit of privacy from the street.” He stopped to bend over and yanked a weed growing from the side of the fence before proceeding into the yard.

Kiran continued down the short path to the front door, admiring the colours in the old flag stone siding that had been washed clean. The flecks of quartz within the rock flickered and the leaded lattice front windows sparkled in the daylight. She could hear the wheels of the wagon behind her and the clang of the fence gate as Ranulf followed behind. “If you take the path past the stoop you’ll find the small garden I started. Nothing extensive, just a few vegetables and herbs.”

  


“Really? You know I’m not very good at keeping plants alive?” Kiran mentioned, reaching for the curved handle on the weathered red wooden door that had been reinforced with new cast iron locks and hinges. The once cracked and broken transom windows that surrounded the door, the ones she had looked through when she first saw the house, had been replaced with a lovely stained glass motif of Askran blue violets crowning the top. She inserted the key, twisting it back and forth in the lock until she heard a distinctive click. Kiran pushed the door open to the hallway that ran the length of the home, light shone through the coloured glass, speckling the rustic wooden plank floors and iron twisting staircase at the back of the home.

“Don’t worry about the garden.” Ranulf began unpacking the wagon, stacking boxes off to the side of the small front foyer. “I’ll take full responsibility of the plants. Dag said he would teach me a few more recipes and I thought some fresh produce would be nice.” He told her, tossing his set of keys in a ceramic bowl that sat on a shelf near some coat hooks. “Go on, and look around. The alchemists were here yesterday, and I haven’t had time to test out the phosphorus switches. Maybe you can do that?”

Kiran nodded and wandered into the front sitting room on her right, the smell of fresh whitewash lingered. A singular mustard couch with large blue cushions sat in front of a brick fireplace with a freshly painted wooden mantle. The room was bright and airy with natural light and she was thankful that they wouldn’t need to use any alchemist tricks during the day.

She found the mounted knob with a symbol of a triangle atop a double cross. Surrounding the knob was strange markings painted on the mounts surface. These marks were broken up with blank slits in the mount. Kiran ran her fingers over the uneven surface, this was advance magic, beyond her capabilities, but maybe one day she could understand it. She pushed the knob in and turned it, causing the mechanism below to twist the disc and complete the markings around the knob, creating a symbol that triggered whatever elements sat in the frosted glass sconces secured to the walls. The reaction sputtered with blue and orange sparks and soft orange-red light began glowing around the room, with a faint odor of sulfur that made her nose twitch. A small inconvenience for a quick and easy source of light once the sun set. Kiran turned the knob again, and the disc below twisted once more, altering the symbol and severing the link that powered the sconces.

“It works!” she called out, maneuvering around the small stack of boxes and crossing the hallway, entering the second front room. This space was even brighter than the other one with higher ceilings and exposed beams. Warm sunlight flooding through the large bow window overlooking the garden at the side of the house. Various potted plants lined the floor and hung from above, vines dangling and twisting reaching for the light. A large platform bed nestled in the corner of the window was covered in a mess of throws and pillows of different sizes. “Whoa, is this your bedroom?” Kiran duck under a few tendrils, mesmerized by the butterflies fluttering on the plants and the song of birds chasing them outside the windows.

Ranulf leaned against the doorframe of his room, “Yeah, I got pretty sick of staring at stone walls. This reminds me a bit more of where I came from, of the forests in Gallia.” his eyes sparkled and tilted his head, gesturing to follow. “Come on, I’ll show you the kitchen.”

Kiran pushed some vines to the side and followed him down the hallway, entering the back room that was adjacent to the sitting area. The shutters were closed, the only source of light was through the windows of the Dutch door leading out back of the house and an odd red glow coming from the brick oven on the exterior wall. Ranulf pulled at the shutters and pushed open the top of the door letting in the light and cool fresh air blowing off the water flowing behind the house. Looking around Kiran could see that the wood top counter wrapped around the inner walls with a large basin sink under the far back window and a standard Nifl wood ice box in the opposite corner. She noticed the assortment of different china and ceramic pieces sitting upon the shelves, not one of them seemed from the same set and were stacked haphazardly without any order. Copper and cast iron pots and pans piled in different corners with herbs and peppers hanging in various stages of drying. Kiran took a seat on one of the two stools that sat in front of a small stone-top island in the middle of the room. The eclectic kitchen had a life of its own and she had to admit she was impressed. “You’ve been busy.”

“Ah huh, and check this out.” Ranulf moved towards the curious brick oven. The stone inside radiated with veins of crystallized minerals that glowed molten red. He grabbed one of the logs of wood from the stack on the side. “I talked to Ike, who’s stationed in Múspell, he pulled some strings but he was able to export a few slabs of Sinmara stone for us. Watch this.” He threw the log into the glowing entrance of the oven and immediately the surface of the wood cracked and began to smoke when it touched the stone within. “It never cools down. Ever! And there was enough of the stone to line part of the well reservoir. Hot water for washing whenever you want it!” he proudly claimed, reaching over to pump the handle of the tap at the basin. Water began to run out the spout with each crank, steam clouding and condensing on the window panes above the sink.

Kiran hopped down from her stool, “No way!” she laughed as she waved her hand under the hot water running from the tap. “It’s really hot!” she cried, it had felt like a whole life time ago since she had hot running water from a tap. Ranulf reached over and unlatched the window, pushing it open to let the steam escape. Overlooking a wooden deck on the edge of the river, Kiran was astonished to see just how close they were to the water. They were one of the few homes that sat where the canal split in two and she could see directly down the centre of the river. Water fowl cried out, while drifting between small boats, busy with their day’s work. Business and Askran homes lined the river banks of each side.

“I was thinking we could eventually open up the kitchen to the sitting room.” Ranulf explained looking at the inner wall and rubbing his chin. “But there’s more to do in the bathrooms before anything like that can start…”

“And what about my room?” Kiran closed the window and wandered back to the hallway poking her head into the dark room across from the kitchen. The smoky glass windows let in very little light and she ran her hand on the wall looking for the phosphorus switch, pushing in it and turning it. The sconces crackled to life and the orange-red glow revealed nothing more than the bathroom. An old claw foot tub, sink and toilet lined up beside each other, connected by a maze of pipes that seemed not to have any uniformed pattern before disappearing into the off-white tile walls. Another bonus of living in the city proper was being able to take advantage of the capital’s sewage system. The castle was old and made of solid stone. It was difficult to install features you could easily find in the city, but the recent renovations would bring them one step closer. She twisted the knob again, snuffing out the light, the sconces darkened with the sound of a low hiss and Kiran turned back towards the hallway.

Ranulf picked up one of her boxes from the stack in the foyer, “Follow me!” he told her as he passed by, heading up the iron staircase that corkscrewed up to the second floor.

Kiran bounded up the spiral stairs after him which lead to a small landing, with three doors, each on separate walls. Beams of light flooding down from the sunlight above. Ranulf leaned against the door frame of the first room, one that would be directly above the kitchen. “I figured if the roosters don’t wake you up, the smell of breakfast would.”

“Shut up.” Kiran playfully told him and turned the door knob, entering the large bedroom. Exposed wooden beams and rustic wooden floors, stood out in contrast with the light cyan coloured walls and moldings. A four post bed with sheer draping sat upon shaggy white rug. The sheer fabric matched the curtains that loosely hung at the side of French doors which lead to a small balcony overlooking the river. Sitting on the edge of the bed, the pastel quilt and wool blankets were soft and warm from sitting in the direct sun coming through the large windows. The room felt fresh and new in comparison to the cold dark castle and Kiran could feel her eyes begin to tear up. She knew her decision to move here was the right choice.

“There’s still a lot to finish up. I like to think of it as more of a blank canvas now.” Ranulf looked back into the hall and shrugged, “There’s an unfinished bathroom there and an empty spare room behind that last door. I have just been using it for storage, and if you have any ideas on what it should be used for just say so!”

Kiran joined Ranulf in the hallway and took the box he held in his arms labeled “ _Kiran: Bedside Table."_ It just contained junk from her world that she wasn’t able to let go after she arrived in Askr. She wondered why she ever bothered to bring it with her at all now. “A storage space is a great idea!” She opened the door to the spare room and dropped the box on the floor with a dusty thud. “I think I’m ready to leave some things in the past, and focus on this fresh new start.” Kiran shut the door, turning to face her friend, “Come on, what are we waiting for? Let’s get started!”

End.


End file.
